1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle adapted to be powered by using a motor which is driven by batteries.
2. Description of Background Art
Heretofore, an internal combustion engine has generally been used as a drive source for a vehicle. Vehicles have been proposed wherein the drive source is an electric motor which is driven by chargeable batteries, e.g. lead storage batteries, instead of an internal combustion engine. The use of an electric motor as a drive source for the vehicle is advantageous in that noise and exhaust gas are not generated and it is possible to obtain a vehicle suitable for solving environmental problems.
In an electric powered motor vehicle, it is necessary to provide batteries as an energy source for driving the motor and a control unit is mounted on the vehicle body frame. The construction wherein the batteries and the control unit are mounted on a vehicle body frame in the vicinity of the motor is well known from Japanese Patent Publication No. 20103/76 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 42774/82.
If the batteries and the control unit are mounted to the vehicle body frame near the motor as mentioned above, the structure for supporting the batteries and control unit not only becomes complicated but also these members may be influenced by the heat of the motor. In the above conventional motor vehicle, moreover, since the batteries are heavy objects and are supported in front of a driving wheel by the vehicle body frame, a deflected load may be imposed on the vehicle body frame and hence it becomes necessary to reinforce the vehicle body frame, resulting in a tendency to increase the vehicle weight.